January 24, 2013 - submitted by Mark,

Q. Hey Oracle, I was wondering how does the band know which song they wrote will be successful amongst all others. I mean, do they consider certain tastes or points of view before deciding?

The Oracle replies:

I wouldn't use the word successful but personally having worked in the music industry for over 15 years, I can say you do get a feel for what will make a single and what will sound good on the radio. You can also tell (especially when you know a band really well) what will work live.
Hearing Charlie Brown for the first time in the studio, myself, Roadie #42 and Anchorman all commented how we could already visualize the crowd jumping up and down.
Band, manager and record label have the same instincts to trust which songs will work and do ask for opinion but ultimately the album is down to the band to decide which tracks are in/out and whether they "fit".